Gerry Turpin
Gerry Turpin Bio
Gerry is a Mbabaram Traditional Custodian of north Queensland and has familial links to Wadjanbarra Yidinjii and Nadjon on the Atherton Tablelands, and Kuku Thaypan on Cape York Peninsula.
He been employed by the Queensland Government for over 30 years and during that time, acquired a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Botany at University of Queensland, Brisbane. Gerry leads the development of the Tropical Indigenous Ethnobotany Centre (TIEC) in the Australian Tropical Herbarium (ATH) at James Cook University, Cairns. The Tropical Indigenous Ethnobotany Centre, the first of its kind in Australia, was established in 2010. The purpose of the Centre is to record and document the knowledge of traditional owners, for the benefit of younger generations. Activities include research (including collaborative research), education and training, collation of historical data and information, and protection of intellectual property. Gerry also acts as a bridge between Indigenous Biocultural Knowledge and Western Science to bring researchers and other organisations to partner with traditional owner groups in collaborative research. Gerry has a strong cultural commitment to facilitating effective partnerships that support Indigenous communities to protect, manage and maintain their cultural knowledge on the use of plants.
As a botanist, Gerry participated in the Queensland statewide Regional Ecosystem Survey and Vegetation Mapping Project, including carrying out that project in the Channel Country, south-west Queensland for several years before transferring to the Australian Tropical Herbarium and progressing to Senior Ethnobotanist.
In 2016, he played an important role as a member of the Indigenous Experts Roundtable in reviewing Queensland’s Biodiscovery Act (2004). The Roundtable recommended important changes which were adopted and in September 2020, the Biodiscovery and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 reformed the Act to include legal protections for the use of First Nations peoples’ traditional knowledge in biodiscovery to improve the alignment with international standards such as the Nagoya Protocol.
Gerry has participated on many Indigenous committees, advisory and steering groups, just finishing a 6 year term on the board of the Ecological Society of Australia Organisation as Director of Indigenous Engagement. He recently accepted a position as an Expert Councillor on the Biodiversity Council, University of Melbourne. He is also currently studying for a Master of Philosophy (Medical and Molecular Sciences) on Aboriginal Medicine Plants.
Abstracts this author is presenting: